


The Joys of a Father

by Pharaisia



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Baby, Baby Hannibal, Baby bottle, Daddy Will, Diapers, Father-Son Relationship, Other, Spanking, lullaby
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-11-23
Packaged: 2018-04-27 00:14:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5026204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pharaisia/pseuds/Pharaisia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When after a month Will Graham meets his friend and psychiatrist, dr. Hannibal Lecter, he would have never expected to also become a father that very same day. It's hard work being a daddy, but it also brings a lot of joys.</p><p>AU story where Hannibal is kidnapped, mentally regressed to a baby and put under the care of Will Graham.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Sweet Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> S'up guys? This is my first fanfiction and I really hope that you'll like it. English is not my native language, so pardon me if I'll make mistakes here and there.  
> Suggestions are always welcome! Insults shall be ignored ^^  
> I must thank the authors that inspired me to write this story: AlJeDd and IamSmoke (keep up the good work!)  
> And, of course, Arkham Insanity and the awesome picture she drew me! (unfortunately her tumblr blog had some problems, but I'll link you the picture anyway). This is a series of pictures I'll commission her for each chapter of the story (more or less).  
> Picture link:  
> https://40.media.tumblr.com/279e6fdde29cbb948d678da21b26d358/tumblr_nwbh9geEiq1r42sj9o1_540.png
> 
> Enjoy! (I hope)

The night had fallen upon Wolf Trap and its quiet woods.

Albeit being springtime, the air was chill after sunset, and the pale moon shone among the stars in the dark, blue sky.

Will Graham was enjoying this calm evening by the cozy fireplace, surrounded by his dogs. He really couldn't wish for anything else.  
Well, maybe to know where exactly his psychiatrist was.

One month had passed since dr. Hannibal Lecter went in Europe for "urgent family business", as he put it in his e-mail.  
The profiler didn't even know Hannibal had any relatives; he never talked about them, or even mentioned them.

Will tried many times to get in touch with Lecter with his mobile phone, but everytime he did, the answering service was the one to reply.  
The psychiatrist did send him other e-mails, of course, writing that he was fine, but that he didn't know when he would have come home exactly.

One month full of empty days and restless nights...did he miss Hannibal's presence that much?  
He never was the type to search for social contact (in fact he decided to go live in the middle of nowhere), but he longed for an interesting hour spent in the company of his psychiatrist, discussing intriguing topics and exchanging witty replies before the fire, with a glass of red wine.

Passing a hand over his tired face, the young man realized that he didn't bring his dogs out since that afternoon; he stood up and stretched his arms, before wearing a jacket and leading his animal friends out.

He locked the door, leaving the lights on, and followed the pack towards the woods, with his faithful flashlight and gun. You can never know who or what you may meet in the darkness.  
One of the advantages of living isolated, is the peaceful silence that dominated over Wolf Trap: no traffic, no nosy neighbours, no obligatory social relations...it suited him well.

After about an hour and a half, it was time to get back home. Walking just behind the pack, Will noticed the dogs were tense:  
Some of them sniffed the air and growled, others started to bark or run towards the house.

"H-hey! Wait! Come back!" Will said following them quickly.

When he arrived, the profiler saw something similar to a big basket on his porch; Winston, Buster and the others were growling at something far from them. There were typical car marks on the ground. Why would someone visit him and deliver a basket at his door? They obviously waited for him to get out before placing that thing at his doorstep.  
Will already heard a lot of stories in the FBI about mysterious packages that in reality were bomb placed by psychopaths and terrorist to get some kind of revenge on the agents, so he was very careful about it.

He was thinking about calling Jack or not, when Winston ran up to the wooden porch, sniffling inside the basket.  
"Ah! Winston, get away from there!" Without hesitation he went to retrieve his dog, and giving a better look, he noticed that the basket was identical to the old cradles that were used in the past to put babies inside.  
Will carefully walked over the basket and had a look inside.

He was probably hallucinating again. He HAD to.

Because what was inside the cradle wasn't a bomb, but non other than his friend, Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

The man was sound asleep, sucking on a pacifier, half-covered by a blanket; he was wearing a red onsie, and at his side there were a plush and a baby bottle with milk in it.  
There also was a note attached to the cradle, and there was written:  
"Take care of him, Will."

Before all of this could try and make any sense in his mind, Will opened the door and dragged the basket inside his house.  
When also all the dogs entered, he closed the door and shakily dialed Alana's number. Between her and Jack, he was sure she would have been more understanding about being awaken at eleven p.m.

Lecter simply kept sleeping peacefully, sucking from time to time the pacifier; it would have seemed cute to Will if it wasn't such an absurd situation.  
After a minute or two, a sleepy, female voice replied to the phone.

"Yes?..."  
"A-Alana."  
"Will? Will is everything alright?"  
"Yes. I mean, no, but it's not about me."  
"Will, where are you?"  
"At my home, and Lecter's here."  
"Hannibal? Why is he at your house?"  
"Please Alana, just come here as soon as possible, I promise I'll explain everything, or at least I'll try."  
"Will, you are worrying m..."

He hung up the mobile and flopped on the couch. With some effort, he managed to put the cradle next to him, away from the very curious dogs that were sniffing at it and wagging their tails.

"C'mon guys, settle down..." He murmured, completely enraptured by the sleeping man.  
Graham always saw Hannibal in perfect conditions: hair neatly combed, dressed in a three piece suit with a matching tie, Italian leather shoes...and now he was dressed just like a baby, inside some sort of cradle, sucking on a pacifier. He couldn't resist any longer. He had too many questions that needed answers, and only Lecter could tell him what happened; Will slightly shook the doctor's shoulder a few times, before seeing his friend stirring and waking up.

"Dr. Lecter?...It's me, Will."

The other man blinked confused. The dummy fell from his lips as Hannibal started first to whimper, then to sob desperately.

Graham was taken aback, completely shocked by the man's reaction, and winced as the cries became louder.

"Hannibal, stop! What are you doing?!" He got up and observed the psychiatrist cry helplessy, babbling some unintelligible words.

"Gwa! Waaaaahaah!Mgaagghh!" The man sobbed and rubbed his teary eyes, kicking his blanket away.  
Will couldn't believe his eyes: it was highly improbable that the doctor was faking; why to embarrass himself like this? Only to play some kind of joke on his friend?  
The profiler convinced himself that Hannibal was behaving like a baby because he actually thought to be one.  
So he carefully sat next to the basket and rocked it a bit;  
it seemed to actually work, since Lecter stopped his weeping, turning it into low whimpers and sniffles.  
"Uhm, it-it's alright Hannibal, you're okay..." Will didn't really know what to say to comfort an adult that believed to be a baby. Heck, he barely knew how to talk to adult people, let alone little children.  
"Gwahaa, mbagaa." The psychiatrist burbled stretching out his arms towards Will.  
The younger (even if now he really had doubts about who was younger than the other) man blinked a few times before slowly reaching towards Hannibal and helping him to sit on his lap.  
The _little boy_ sighed and put his head on Graham's shoulder, sucking his thumb and playing with the buttons of the profiler's shirt.  
"There...are you better now?" Will cooed, rocking him slightly.

"Da-da..." Hannibal murmured, relaxing under Graham's care and soft tone.

"Well, you sure are cute when you're not destroying my eardrums." Will chuckled and gently removed Hannibal's thumb out of his mouth, putting the pacifier instead. Lecter whined just for a few moments during the trade, but then he quietly nuzzled into his friend's embrace and closed his eyes. Soon, he was deep asleep, softly snoring over the profiler's shoulder.

The profiler sighed in relief and gently placed the other on the couch, covering him with the blanket; by the time Alana knocked at his door, he realized that his hand was caressing Hannibal's hair. It didn't disturb him, though.

He tip-toed towards the door, where dr. Bloom was waiting worriedly.  
"So? What happened?" She asked entering, but she froze on the spot, seeing Hannibal sleeping on the couch, wearing a baby attire and sucking on a dummy.

"What...How...What's going on?" Alana asked stunned.

"Sssh, please lower your voice, he just fell asleep."  
Will licked his lips.  
"Let's talk in the kitchen. I'll tell you what I know."

 

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"So...that's it? You just...found him at your door?"  
Alana murmured, sipping some warm coffee from her mug.  
Will nodded, turning his head towards the couch: it was half-past midnight, and he just ended to explain the woman what happened a couple hours back.

"I don't know why he's behaving like a baby, Alana, Is he under some kind of hypnosis? Has he been drugged by his kidnappers?"

"Something similar, yes. But on a more deeper level. It seems to be some kind of brainwashing...and whoever did this to him, must be someone that knows how to use psychology strategies to influence someone and bend him. Since he could do this to a brilliant mind like Hannibal's, I guess he or she must be very good at it.  
The question is: why did this kidnapper mentally regressed dr. Lecter to a baby?"

Will shrugged.  
"There are a lot of crazy people out there. We don't know everything about Hannibal's life. It could have been a jealous rival, an ex patient, or colleague...Tomorrow we'll need to start some investigations with Jack."

Alana nodded.  
"In the meantime, what will you do with him?"  
"I guess I have no other choice than to let him stay. After all, he doesn't have the mental capacity to stay alone at his place."  
"Right. Well, you'll need a few things for him, then."

Will raised an eyebrow.  
"For example?..."  
"For example adult sized diapers. If his mind has regressed to the infancy stage, he'll use them, no doubt about it." She smirked as the profiler wrinkled his nose in disgust and sighed.  
"I haven't thought about that..."  
"Good thing I'm here to remind you, then." She chuckled.  
"If you want, I can make a run to the 24 h open shop in town and bring the necessary."  
"Please do." Will took his wallet and passed her some cash.  
"Is this enough?"  
"More than enough. I'll take diapers, baby wipes, talc and a few other things. Be back in a minute." Alana got out and drove away from Graham's house.

Will rubbed his neck. He really hoped that this situation would not be for too long. Otherwise he was doomed.

After half an hour, Bloom came back with two bags: they were full of adult diapers, milk, wipes, cream, talc, a few baby toys...  
"I thought you said you'd only buy the necessary."

She turned towards him. "This is the necessary. You are looking after a giant baby, so the necessary is doubled."

Will rolled his eyes.  
"Fine. But there is another problem: I don't know anything about how to take care of a baby. I never changed a diaper in my life."

"Well, I could teach you. But I doubt Hannibal would be happy to know that I've seen his intimate parts."

"He won't be happy to know that I saw his intimate parts as well. Or that that he thought to be a baby all this time, and that he sucked on a pacifier. So I think it's useless to back away now."

Alan bit his lip. She nodded.  
"You're right. Alright, then, let's see if he needs a diaper change right now. Even if I'm not sure it would be a good idea to wake him up."

"We'll be careful, but I need to know how to do this."

He took a pack of nappies and the other things on the couch, after putting the basket on the floor; Hannibal was still sleeping, his dummy forgotten on the pillow.

"The first thing to do of course is to take off the dirty diaper." Alana instructed, helping Will's hands at Hannibal's sides and removing the diaper; Alana turned his head, blushing hard.  
"I'm sorry, Will, I'll simply tell you what to do...without watching."  
Will nodded sympathetic, as he removed the wet diaper.  
"Now what?" He whispered.  
"Take one or two baby wipes and clean his behind and private parts. After that, put on some talc or cream to prevent any rashes."

The profiler obliged, being careful to not wake up Hannibal, which only sighed in relief.  
"If you're done, take a clean nappy and put it on him." Alana murmured behind Will, that gently slided the new diaper under the man's bottom and wrapped it safely around his hips.  
"Okay, I think I did it right."  
"Let me check." Bloom slowly turned and observed Graham's job; after nodding in approval, she smiled at him. "You are natural at this. Since it's pretty late, I'll leave you a few notes to help you until tomorrow. For example, how to prepare a bottle of milk."  
She quickly wote it down a piece of paper while Will re-dressed Hannibal and tuck the blanket around him.  
"Thank you Alana. I don't know what I'd do without your help."  
"You're welcome, Will. Take care of both of you, hm? Goodnight." Bloom gave him a quick kiss on his cheek before going into her car and driving away.  
Will sighed, closed the front door and checked on Lecter: the _baby_ was deep asleep, and he put the pacifier in his mouth again;  
Hannibal sucked on it for a few seconds, before his breath calmed down completely, his chest moving up and down.

"Aren't you adorable..." The profiler mumbled, smirking and caressing his hair a few times. He then switched off the lights and headed to bed, knowing that he wouldn't have slept well anyway.


	2. Wake-Up Call

Will didn't remember falling asleep.

When he woke up, everything he could hear was the sound of his alarm clock, that was still going, and another sound...was someone crying?

His eyes opened wide, as the memories came back to him.

"Shit, Hannibal!" Jumping off the bed he noticed that it was almost nine o'clock; did he really overslept? He usually woke up a lot earlier than the alarm clock. He couldn't even sleep more than four, five hours per night, and now he slept without nightmares...he didn't even sweat.

Will decided that he would've investigated later about his mysterious lack of insomnia; mostly because he needed to stop Hannibal from making his ears explode and go deaf. "Aw, hey, what's the matter little guy?" The profiler found Lecter on the floor, half of his body entangled in the blue blanket.

"Waaaaahahahaaa! Aaaaaaahaa!" The blond cried helplessly and hiccuped.

"Aww, sssshhhh, it's okay now...Poor baby, you fell from the couch, uh? Let me see..." Will picked Hannibal up and sat on the couch, checking for any bruises on the other's head. "Bwaa! Da-da! Waaaaaah!"

"Mh, you got no bumps luckily. Now, would you lower your voice, before daddy gets an headache?" He chuckled softly, rocking Hannibal between his arms, but it didn't seem to work this time. "Oh, what's wrong buddy? You don't need another diaper change, do you?" Will unbuttoned the onesie and checked the nappy: it was perfectly dry. After a minute of reasoning, he saw the baby bottle half-filled with milk in the basket; of course, he had to be hungry. He placed the man on the couch again, before grabbing the bottle and going towards the kitchen.

Naturally, feeling that his daddy was no longer holding him, Hannibal started to cry desperately. The dogs mostly whined, hiding below the table and chairs, disturbed by the noise. Graham winced, as he quickly put some milk Alana bought yesterday to warm up and poured the one in the bottle right in the sink. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon..." He chanted, nervously waiting for the milk to become warm. Alana recommended him to not make the milk too hot, otherwise Hannibal couldn't drink it. When finally the milk was ready, Will tested the temperature on his wrist, finding it good enough to drink.

"Yes, yes, I'm here." The profiler huffed while sitting down, helping the man's back on his lap, keeping his head high enough to drink. Lecter whimpered and hiccuped, until he stopped to cry completely. "Here, breakfast is ready." Will couldn't even place the nipple on Hannibal's lips, that the blond man immediately started to suck the milk greedily. "Hey, calm down, the bottle isn't going anywhere." He chuckled, slightly removing the nipple from the other's mouth. Hannibal blinked, before suckling the rubber nipple again, more gently this time. "There...good boy...You were really hungry, you poor thing." Will cooed, feeding him and humming a sweet melody. The milk disappeared in no time from the bottle, and it seemed that Lecter had relaxed completely. Will put the bottle on the table, replacing it with the pacifier.

"Now Hannibal, I'd like to go and dress up before Jack and the others arrive to see me in my underwear. I'm sure I can leave you here for a couple of minutes, right?"

In response, the other simply sucked the dummy a few times.

"Right. I'll leave you on the carpet, so you won't risk falling from the couch again."

Will helped him to sit on the carpet and went into his bedroom, leaving the door open. Hannibal looked around curiously, and giggled when Winston came to lick his nose and cheeks. "Doggie!" He said petting and hugging the dog; from the other room, Graham smiled at the sweet scene: after all, having a big baby around wasn't that difficult. It was almost a pity that dr. Lecter had to return to his usual self; at least, while being little, he couldn't try to psychoanalyze him. He was the one in control, for once. Lecter crawled towards the other dogs to pet them or chase them around, giggling happily.

 

At some point, his attention was attracted by the shiny fireplace tools next to him; he decided that he wanted to play with them, taking the shovel in his hands. When Will was done changing clothes, he returned into the living room, only to see a giggling man almost hit, with the fireplace shovel, one of his dogs. "A-a-ah: this isn't a toy, Hannibal." The profiler took away from his hands the instrument. Lecter blinked a few times, realizing that the pretty, shiny thing was taken away by his daddy.

"Pwetty!" He slurred pointing at the shovel, pouting.

"Uh-uh, not a chance." Will shook his head and took away also the other instruments out from Hannibal's grasp. "You could hurt yourself or others with these things."

"PWETTY! MINE! MINE!" The man screamed and kicked on the floor, putting all his strenght in one big tantrum. The dogs whined and darted towards the front door, hoping their master would open it and save them from the shrieking man. The profiler took a deep breath, passing his hand through his curls. First of all, he granted his dogs' wish by letting them out. Then, he picked Hannibal up from the floor and sat on the couch, wincing a the loud screams.

What could he do to calm him down?

He gingerly bounced him on his knee, and saw that the baby boy lowered his cries and sobbed for a few minutes, before focusing on the bouncing. Will sighed in relief, before passing him his stag plush.

_"Hush little baby, don't say a word. Daddy is going to buy you a mockingbird..."_

The profiler started to sing a lullaby to soothe Hannibal; the other man blinked and sniffled, clutching at his plush and sucking his thumb.

_"If that mockingbird won't sing, Daddy is going to buy you a diamond ring..."_

Graham pulled Lecter over his chest, and the bouncing became a rocking movement, which greatly helped the man to relax. Will kept singing until the end of the lullaby; Hannibal peacefully sucked his thumb, while playing with his daddy's flannel buttons.

_"...You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town."_

Once the song ended, the profiler kept stroking Hannibal's blond hair, kissing his head softly.

"Da-da, bwaa..."

"Yes, sweetheart, dada is here..." Will cooed, feeling his cheeks on fire by saying something so sticky sweet to his psychiatrist.

For some reason, his fatherly instinct refused to leave him alone, making him baby-talk to Hannibal, calling him mushy names and addressing himself as daddy or dada. That would be absolutely mortifying to do before other people. Luckily, for now he was alone. He didn't need to remember that in reality he was holding an adult convinced to be a baby, and not a real one. Still, he couldn't bring himself to stop smiling fondly, cuddling and talk softly to Lecter, which reciprocated the smile, feeling loved beyond words.

 

After about twenty minutes, Will heard the dogs barking outside and a few cars parking near his house. The profiler gave Hannibal his pacifier and placed him on the couch. "Stay here honey. Daddy is going to open the door." Hannibal simply nuzzled into the warm cushions and yawned. Will opened the front door even before Jack or Alana could knock. His chief greeted him with a cordial smile, entering the house; soon, Beverly Katz, Brian Zeller and Jimmy Price entered as well with Alana behind them. Even if she had explained the entire situation to them, the crew remained stunned anyway by the vision of dr. Lecter blabbing to a plush. They started to analyze Hannibal's clothes, basket and the signs of the wheels outside.

Will simply explained to Crawford what he did during that period of time, that he saw nothing or no one around his house, oterwise the dogs would've alert him before taking them for a walk.

"Can't you see the kidnapper?" Jack asked.

"No. It is not a murder: no blood, no actual crime scene, no...incentive. My mind needs to be stimulated by senses, or else it's useless." Will sighed.

"Don't worry, we'll find whoever is behind this." Crawford nodded looking over the young man; Hannibal was still on the couch, where Beverly was literally cooing at him, with Brian and Jimmy doing funny faces to make him laugh. He smirked. "If the team won't be too distracted by dr. Lecter, of course."

They both chuckled.

"You may need to take a blood sample from him: the kidnapper probably drugged him heavily to have more access to Hannibal's subconscious and manipulate it." Alana suggested.

"Motive?"

"It could be anything: professional jealousy, an ex-patient obsessed with him...Even revenge. We know so little about his past."

"Well, the kidnapper knows you."

"Or he read my name and adress somewhere, like on Tattle Crime."

"But if it was revenge, or even obsession, why release him? By abandoning him on your front door, nonetheless."

"That's what I don't understand..." Will shook his head, biting his lower lip. "I mean: why me? Couldn't the kidnapper just leave him at his house? Or a police station?"

"Probably the kidnapper also knew about your friendship with dr. Lecter." Jack mumbled pensive. After a short while, the trio got closer to them.

 

"Well...that was a complete failure." Zeller huffed.

"Whoever took him here, was smart enough to put on a pair of gloves, or clean his fingerprints from everything. Not even footprints outside the house." Commented Beverly.

"At least, we know that the wheel tracks are deep in the ground. Jusging by the weight of the car, approximately 4,300 lbs, the kidnapper was driving something similar to a SUV or a small van. How many people drive big vehicles in the middle of the night in Wolf Trap?" Jimmy added.

"We'll ask around, see if anyone saw a big car going towards the woods around eleven p.m.; we'll also check the surveillance cameras in the streets. We'll find him."

"Or her."

Everyone raised an eyebrow at Price.

 

"What? I just don't want to be sexist, that's all."

Jack shook his head, observing Hannibal.

"It wouldn't be wise to try and take him to the BAU: if the kidnapper wanted you, Will, to take care of Lecter, then it's better if he stays here. We might get lucky, the kidnapper could try to visit him and see how he's doing."

Graham nodded in agreement, rubbing his neck. "I...well, he'll need things..."

"What sort of things?" Jack asked genuinely confused. After all, he never had children.

Katz sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Uhm, hello? He's a baby. Sort of. Anyway, he thinks he is. So he'll need more diapers, baby food, clothes...maybe another bed. He can't keep sleeping on the couch, poor thing."

The group stared at her, surprised.

"Do you have _any_ idea of all the baby cousins I had during my life? A lot. Enough for me to learn a thing or two."

"Something with bars would be...better. He fell from the couch this morning." Will mumbled blushing, now feeling all the eyes on him.

"Yeah, something like a cot." Beverly agreed.

"I...I'm afraid my salary couldn't cover all these expenses..."

"I could convince the high office to create a fund to help dr. Lecter recover: after all, he always helped the F.B.I. when needed. This way, you could buy anything you'd need."

"Oh, about his recover..." Alana licked her lips. "It won't be fast, but it's better if we just let his memory rehabilitate by itself. Forcing his mental growth with medicines or by keeping him in an institute, would be worse."

"You mean...that we have to wait until he remembers everything? Alana, it...it could take years..."

 

A minute of complete silence passed, before the woman approached Will, placing a delicate hand on his shoulder. "If it'll take too long...then we may consider an institute, the best we can find of course. But please try first. Don't you think Hannibal would do that for you?"

The profiler swallowed some saliva, shifting a bit before nodding. "Once again, you're right. He would do this for me. He's my...friend." He managed a smile looking at Hannibal, gently petting Buster on the head. Once the arrangements were done, they all got out. Jack told Will that they would stay in contact; Alana insisted on calling her everytime he needed, no matter the hour and Beverly promised the young man that she would've taken care of everything baby Hanni needed.

 

His home was silent again.

Will sat down on the couch, placing Hannibal on his lap, sighing.

"Why do I keep getting into strange situations?"


	3. Bedtime Issues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Just wanted to thank you so much for the comments, bookmarks and kudos you left on my story!  
> I honestly didn't think that anyone would've actually appreciate it (almost 500 people read this? Wow!).  
> Well, enjoy the third chapter everyone ^^
> 
> By the way, here's another commission I asked to the great Arkham Insanity:
> 
> http://s23.postimg.org/apgsl73ff/rockinghannibal.png

It was incredible, Will thought, how an entire week had already passed. He even already got used at the idea of playing the part of Hannibal's daddy.

Jack kept his word, creating a fund for dr. Lecter's recovery, and in a day his house was literally filled with all sort of baby furniture: a playpen, a cot, an highchair...all adult-seized, of course. They even substituted his shower box with a big bath tub, so he could wash Hannibal more easily.

Beverly spent five days to order clothes, toys, and whatnot from the internet. It wasn't difficult to find footed pajamas for adults, and Hannibal mostly wore one of those (much more comfortable than a three piece suit).

Alana came to his house everytime she could to check on Hannibal and help him to get his memory back; in fact, the man made some significant progresses, as he now was able to talk a bit more. She also recommended to talk softly to him and to be very careful with adult words (especially with curses). Still, Hannibal needed to use diapers and threw a few tantrums here and there when instead of the bottle, Will tried to feed him some mushy food; but he couldn't chew very well, and the profiler wasn't going to get any risk of suffocation.

Right now, Will was in fact failing to feed him the mushy stuff, sighing as for the tenth time Hannibal shut his mouth and turned his head as far as he could from the spoon. It was a simple recipe, carrots, zucchini and pumpkin puree (Beverly thaught him how to prepare baby food), so it wasn't actually that bad.

"C'mon Hanni, be a good boy for daddy and eat."

Hannibal shook his head, pouting.

"Please, at least three spoonfuls...then you can go and play."

"No! Yucky!" The man hit the spoon with his hand, giggling when it splattered on Will's shirt.

Will frowned: two days ago, he remembered a chat with Katz about him spoiling Hannibal too much for her tastes. He simply replied that (at least mentally) the psychiatrist was too young for a spanking, and he was afraid to hurt him or traumatize him. After earning a raised brow and a sigh from Beverly, she simply suggested other kind of punishments that would have been perfectly safe for a baby. And now it was time to try them.

"Enough." Will swiftly picked up Hannibal and marched towards the cot. "You have been very naughty, Hanni. And until you'll be a good, obedient little boy, you'll be in time out in your cot. No toys, no cartoons, no fairytales." He closed the window's curtains, with Lecter looking confused and sad in his bed, surrounded by sturdy wooden bars.

"Now you stay there and think about what you did." Graham scolded before returning into the living room. Of course, he left the door open. There was no need to scare Hannibal by letting him think that his daddy abandoned him. Not even an instant later, Hannibal started to weep for attention. Will knew that would've happened, and simply ignored him, reading a book.

"Waaaaaa-ahhh-aaah! Daddiiieee! Aaaaaahhh!" He shook the bars a bit and tried to climb over them with no results, since they arrived at his torso when standing up. He kicked, screamed and even threw his pillow out of the cot, but nothing of this made Will go back in the bedroom.

After five minutes, Hannibal was tired from all the crying, and simply sniffled and sobbed a bit, before calming down completely. Ten minutes later, Graham decided that the baby had learned his lesson. He stood up, and walked inside the room, opening the curtains again; Hannibal was sucking his thumb for comfort, looking very sorry.

"Are you going to be good now?" Taking out the thumb, Lecter nodded.

"No more tantrums?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"Nuh-uh." Hannibal shook his head.

"Very well." The profiler smiled, and kissed his baby boy's forehead, before picking him up again. Hugging him, the doctor nuzzled into Will's shoulder, sighing in relief as his papa didn't seem angry anymore.

"Sowwy..."

"I know honey, you're forgiven. Daddy loves you very much." Will said placing Hannibal back in the high chair. He then quickly warmed up the baby food before serving it again. Hannibal pouted, but didn't refuse the food, as he obediently opened his mouth whenever daddy brought the spoon near him. Will smirked: he needed to thank Beverly a million times for this. After feeding the little one all the puree, Will wiped Hannibal's mouth and picked him up; being an adult, Lecter still needed to clean his teeth, something he would usually fuss about, but not this time, probably because he didn't want another time-out.

Once the teeth were cleaned, the profiler brought the blond in the living room, placing him in the playpen.

"Now, Hanni, play nice by yourself for a few minutes. I have to let the dogs out and work a bit." He placed the pacifier into his boy's mouth, as the other nodded.

"Good boy." He praised, kissing his forehead.

Hannibal didn't mind playing on his own: he knew his daddy was always very busy, so he quietly played with his toys, and especially with the stag plush, mr. Deer, his best friend. Auntie Alana and auntie Beverly brought him lots of toys, like soft building blocks, a rock-a-stack, a few more plushies, bath toys and even books. He loved to listen to his papa read him fairytales, he had a very nice voice that always calmed him down before bedtime. After some time, Hanni started to feel sleepy. He yawned, rubbing his eyes, as he layed down. In mere minutes, he fell into a blissful slumber.

 

It was very dark around him. Where was daddy? And mr. Deer? Hannibal whimpered a few times, but he couldn't call for his papa. He couldn't move either. He was very scared now; he didn't know where he was, and couldn't see anything beyond the darkness. Suddently, out of nowhere, he saw before him a girl, with long, black hair and a white tunic, suspended in the air. Hannibal was going to ask her name, but he only watched in horror as the girl was pierced by antlers. He woke up with a start, blinking in confusion at the afternoon light coming from the windows. His heart was racing, and his daddy was nowhere to be seen; panicking, he started to sob and cry.

Will was just outside the house, on the porch, when he heard Hannibal crying; he rushed inside, picking up the poor man, which immediately clutched his shirt, trembling.

"Ssssshhhh...Daddy is here Hanni...aww, there, there..." The young man rocked him, while lovingly rubbing his back to soothe him. It only worked a little, since the other kept whimpering into his shoulder.

"What's wrong, hm? Do you need a nappy change?" Will unbuttoned his footed pajamas' drop seat and checked the diaper: it was indeed wet. He chuckled.

"My poor baby boy...I'll change you right away."

Of course, he didn't even suspect that Hannibal actually had a terrible nightmare. He genuinely thought that he was crying because he soaked his nappy. Strangely enough, Will had to make an effort to lay the blond on the changing mat; he usually would look forward to get out of a dirty diaper, but this time he made a terrible fuss over it.

"Hanni, stay still, now." Will huffed trying to unbutton the blue footed pjs. Hannibal whimpered and whined, gripping his daddy's shirt.

"No,no,no!"

"Hannibal, please...you need a change, or your little bottom will get a rash." Will sighed, patiently untying Lecter's hands off of his neckband. Still tired by the aweful awakening, Hannibal sniffled and meekly let his daddy lay him down.

"There we go, honey. I promise it'll be quick." Will smiled, passing him the stag plush. The little one hugged mr. Deer, and sucked his thumb, relaxing a bit. Finally, after taking off both the pajamas and the wet diaper, Will proceeded into cleaning the rosy buttcheeks gently with two baby wipes; he also put some cream and a sprinkle of talc, before wrapping a fresh nappy around Hannibal's waist.

"All done." He smiled, giving a raspberry on his baby boy's tummy. The blond laughed happily and squirmed. The profiler fetched a long-sleeved red shirt, a pair of overalls jeans and a pair of thick socks, and put them on Lecter.

"I bet you'd like some fresh air, kiddo." He said pinching the pacifier's chain on the shirt. Hannibal didn't quite understand what his daddy said, but put the dummy in his mouth and leaned over his chest, sighing. Will grinned.

"I think that was a yes." Since the psychiatrist was too heavy to be always carried around, and wasn't walking yet, the profiler simply guided him towards the front door. Once they were out, Will helped Hannibal going down the wooden stairs and sat in the grass, under the warm sunshine. Winston and the others were playing, chasing lizards or rolling on the ground.

"Aww, doggies!" Hannibal giggled and clapped his hands. "Silly doggies."

Will nodded smilig "Yes, these are some silly doggies. Right pal?" He said petting Buster behind the ear.

 

In the end, they spent a very nice afternoon, staying outside and making a few games to improve Lecter's speaking level. They both went back into the house before sunset. Will left Hannibal to watch some cartoons, like Pocoyo and Curious George, and went to prepare dinner. The boy didn't focus too much on the tv, and continued to turn his head towards the kitchen, to see if his daddy was still there; he didn't want to be alone, the girl with the antlers could appear again. But maybe she just appeared in the dark. He shifted uncomfortably, clutching at mr. Deer.

"Mistew Deew, me scawed..." He whispered, sucking his thumb.

"Honey, how many times have I told you to not suck your thumb? It's bad for your teeth." Will said gently, approaching Lecter and carefully pulling out the thumb. He frowned, sensing that something was wrong with his little one.

"Are you okay, Hanni?" The other slowly shook his head no.

"What's wrong? Tell your daddy." The profiler sat down on the couch, hugging Hannibal.

"Scawed, daddy..."

"Scared? What are you scared of?"

"Giwl with antlews."

Will blinked in confusion: girl with antlers? He couldn't be referring to his plush, since it was a stag (and thus a male).

"What do you mean, sweetheart? Did you see her somewhere?"

"Nap..."

Nap. While he was sleeping, then. Graham now understood: little Hannibal had a nightmare. That explained his clingy behaviour earlier. Still, a girl with antlers... where did he heard that before? His eyes went wide. Oh no. Lecter was indeed recovering his memories. The most horrid ones. He should have known that, after visiting all those crime scenes with him, Hannibal would've also remembered the corpses and their macabre exposures. The nightmare he had was probably the memory of Marissa Schurr's corpse, which was in fact impaled on a rack of antlers. He licked his lips, hugging Hannibal tight.

"Sweetie, that was only a bad dream...a nightmare. It wasn't real."

Hannibal blinked, tilting his head.

"You know...when you go to sleep, sometimes your head makes you see pictures."

"Like books?"

"Yes, like the books I read you. Sometimes the pictures are nice. Sometimes can be scary. Like the girl with the antlers you saw."

"Scawy..." The blond sniffled, feeling the tears coming down his cheeks.

"Oh, no,no Hanni...Come here." Will sat Hannibal on his knees, wiping away the tears with his thumb.

"I know it's scary, but bad dreams can't hurt you, baby boy. They are just pictures." The young man kissed the other's forehead and head, cuddling him. "If you'll have another nightmare, remember that daddy is here with you."

Hannibal sighed, still terrorized at the idea of going to sleep, but relaxing at his daddy's cuddles. Will smiled.

"Now, how about some yummy food? And a warm bath after that, with your nice bath toys."

Lecter smiled.

"Ducky?"

"Yes, your little yellow duck and your little boat." Will said, getting up with Hannibal. He quickly carried him to the kitchen, securing him into the highchair.

 

"It's soft peas and chicken tonight, sir. I hope you'll like it." The profiler joked serving the dish. Of course, the chicken was minced, so that Hannibal could start learning how to chew properly without any risk. The blond man giggled, and didn't throw any tantrums while his papa fed him. Will also gave him some water with the baby bottle (he really should buy a sippy cup now).

After feeding Hannibal, he put him in the playpen, while he had his own dinner. Lecter looked antsy, as he watched the sky from the window turning a dark blue. Graham sighed: why did he have the feeling that he wouldn't get any sleep that night? Nonetheless, once he was done eating, he went to fill the bath tub with warm water, bubbles and rubber toys. Then he went back into the living room, undressing Hannibal completely, and carrying him into the bathroom. The water was very nice, and the little boy enjoyed playing with his duck and boat, as his daddy washed him and hummed softly. In the end, the dreadful bedtime arrived, and of course Hannibal was absolutely refusing to even sit in his cot.

"NO!NO!NO!NO!NOOO!" He cried desperately, while trying to climb over the bars. And Will promptly layed him back down.

"Hannibal, I told you, there is nothing to be afraid of." He huffed, trying to avoid the kicks in his direction. "Calm down, please. I promise I'll be here, and I'll even let a light on.

"Noooooo! Waaaaaaaaahh!" Hannibal sobbed and hiccuped.

Will gave a long sigh, sensing an headache coming. He couldn't be thankful enough for having no neighbours. Being completely at loss on what to do, he called Beverly.

"Hello?"

"Bev? Thank God, I need help."

The woman winced at the screams she could hear in the background.

"Are you torturing a cat or something?"

"It's Hannibal, he had a bad nightmare during his afternoon nap, and now he doesn't want to go to sleep."

"Then don't put him to sleep."

"What?"

"I said, don't put him to sleep!"

"No, I mean, why?"

"Trust me. Prepare some warm milk with honey, sit in the rocking chair I sent you _purposely_   for these situations, and read him a tale or sing him a lullaby...he'll fall asleep without knowing it."

"Oh...well, okay, thanks."

"You are such a newbie at this...It's adorable." She chuckled, ending the call before Will could reply.

 

Grunting, the profiler warmed up some milk and put some honey inside the baby bottle. He then went back into the bedroom, placing the bottle and a fairytale book next to the rocking chair, before picking the weeping man up and out of the cot.

"Alright Hanni, you win: I'll just read you something nice, while you drink your milk, okay?" The boy stopped crying and nodded, taking the baby bottle. He suckled the sweet milk while his papa started reading _"Goldilocks and The Three Bears"_ in a low, gentle tone. After a few lines, Will began to slightly rock the chair back and forth, back and forth... His baby's eyelids were gradually becoming heavy, while he kept reading the story. The young man saw that Hannibal fell asleep still sucking the empty bottle, so he picked him up to place him in the cot.

Lecter opened his eyes, and started to whimper.

"No, daddy, pwlease! Dun wanna!" He sobbed, hugging Graham tightly.

Will sighed and sat back into the chair, rocking again. He could try with a lullaby.

_"Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop,_

_When the wind blows, the cradle will rock,_

_When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,_

_And down will come baby, cradle and all..."_

Will repeated the song for almost an hour. This time it seemed to work, as Hannibal dozed on and off until he fell soundly asleep, snoring softly. Smiling, the young man carefully placed the sleeping man into the cot, tucking him up. Since the day had been lively enough, Will decided to go to bed as well. He had a quick shower, changed into a pair of boxers and a t-shirt, and collapsed on the bed.

Not even ten minutes later, he heard Hannibal whimpering and calling for him.

"D-daddy...Scawed..." The little one sobbed, sitting up.

Graham gave a long, exasperated sigh, before getting out of bed and picking his baby up.

"Hanni: daddy is very tired, and needs to sleep. You need to sleep as well, or you'll be a very cranky little boy tomorrow. So, what if tonight you sleep with me?" He slowly went back under the covers, with Hannibal at his side. The other whined a bit, but after finding a comfortable position, he completely relaxed, sucking his nice, blue pacifier.

"Finally..." Will mumbled with a small smile, as he as well, got raptured by Morpheus, falling into a blissful sleep.


	4. First Steps, First Troubles

 

 

The smell of fresh ground coffee invaded Will's nostrils in the morning.

He opened his eyes, stumbling through his bedroom until he reached the door. The sunlight illuminated every corner, blinding his sleepy eyes.

Someone was humming in the kitchen. He stood in the doorframe as he saw none other than his friend, dr. Hannibal Lecter, wearing the usual three-piece suit and an apron.

He turned towards the profiler, smiling gently.

"Good morning, Will."

 

Will gasped as he sat up in his bed, darkness still surrounding him. He sighed: no fresh coffee, no home-made breakfast, and no adult dr. Lecter.

Looking at his side, his baby boy was sleeping like an angel, curled up in a little, peaceful ball. A sad smile appeared on Graham's lips. What if Lecter never recovered? What if, even after a year under his care, he would still mentally be a child? He really couldn't think about taking him in a institute: it would break his heart to see him crying for his daddy, while being dragged into a car that would have taken him away. Will shivered at the bitter image, tightly hugging Hannibal to his chest. He felt him stir.

"Daddy?..."

The young man shushed him, lovingly caressing his blond hair. The clock marked 5 a.m. Way too soon for the both of them to get up.

"Hush Hanni, it's okay...sleep..."

Hannibal whined a little before being lulled back to slumber by the caresses. Will, on the contrary, decided to stay awake and simply relax at the silken sensation of Lecter's soft hair. He dozed on and off until nine o'clock and decided to get up along with the blond man, which was whining and shifting a bit, feeling uncomfortable.

"Seems like someone needs a nappy change."

Will chuckled, tickling Hannibal's neck; the other squealed happily and hugged his daddy.

"Luv you daddy." He said behind the pacifier. Will felt his heart melt, and a warm smile appeared on his lips.

"And daddy loves you, Hanni."

He quickly changed the diaper and dressed Hannibal with a pair of dark blue pants and a white shirt with a teddy bear on it. Then he carried his baby boy to the kitchen, where he fed him some porridge and a bottle of milk. Will just had toast and coffee. After placing Lecter in the playpen and letting out the dogs, he simply started to grade his students' essays. Hannibal pouted: he wanted to play with his daddy, but he was doing grown-up stuff and wasn't looking at him.

"Daddy, come play with me?"

"Not now, Hanni, daddy is working. Be a good boy and play alone for a while."

Hannibal sighed and sadly went back to play with his toys. Half an hour later, Will was anything but done. Hannibal was tired of being in the playpen all alone. He wanted to stay with the doggies, and hug his daddy, and play with him!

With all this desire of freedom inside him, Lecter slowly stood up. He carefully put a leg over the edge and reached the floor. He did the same with the other, until he was standing up, all by himself, outside the playpen. He giggled and clapped his hands in delight: he was like daddy! But after a few seconds, he lost his balance, plopping down on his padded bottom. He didn't get hurt, and simply blinked confused before trying to repeat the experience. Will obviously was too focused on the horrifying essays to notice that Hannibal was trying to stand up and walk. He simply mumbled a _"be quiet, Hanni"_ , before continuing his work. The blond man stood up again and took two steps towards Will's direction.

"Daddy! Look!"

"Hanni, sweetheart, I can't play with you now..."

"But daddy..."

"Hanni, what did I just..."

Will's eyes grew wide, seeing a tall toddler wobbling towards him with a big smile. Will immediately hugged the man, covering his head and face in kisses. Finally some significant sign of recover! Hannibal was starting to walk again. Well, more like toddle. Hannibal giggled, appreciating the cuddles.

"My sweet, little boy! You are walking, all by yourself!" Of course, it wasn't anything exceptional since Lecter already knew how to walk and just needed to remember how. But he praised him nonethless.

"Such a good boy!" He gave another big kiss over Hannibal's cheek before releasing him. "Come to daddy, honey, c'mon."

The blond man tried a few more steps, but plopped down on the floor. He pouted and whimpered.

"You can do it, Hanni, c'mon." Will opened his arms and waited for Hannibal to try again. He recognized a glint of determination in his eyes, and saw him get up again and carefully walking towards him.

"That's it...three more steps..."

With some effort, Hannibal finally found himself between his daddy's arms, and nuzzled into his neck.

"Good boy! You did great!"

"Weally daddy?"

"Of course. Now, would you like to play with daddy?" "

"Oh, yes! Please daddy!"

After a few more cuddles, they settled on the carpet and played together with Hannibal's toys. Will also made him do some more walking around the house and outside, but never left his hand. Later he called Alana, informing her of the great progress, and she was very happy of that.

"If it keeps going like this, dr. Lecter may recover his full memories by fall, if not even before." She said.

Will nodded. "I really hope so. I really like baby Hannibal, but I miss his adult self."

"We all do." They ended the phone call before lunch, and the profiler went to prepare something to eat. Lecter simply kept on walking from the playpen to the front door, even running from time to time.

Will grinned. "Hanni, you can walk all you want in here, but don't try to use the stairs. Daddy will teach you how tomorrow, ok?"

The blond toddler nodded, but something similar to mischief twinkled in his eyes. He really wanted to walk on the stairs all alone and show his daddy that he was a big boy. So he waited until his papa turned around and went into the kitchen, before quietly reaching the wooden staircase that led upstairs. He put one foot on the first step. The other on the second one, until he climbed ten whole steps before pausing for a breath.

"Hanni? Lunch is ready..." Will got out of the kitchen while cleaning his hands on a towel. Hannibal was startled by the voice and lost his balance. The profiler didn't even had time to gasp, as he dashed towards the stairs a few seconds before Lecter could hit his head. The blond was obviously scared by what happened and sobbed. Will swiftly carried him on the sofa, checking for any bruises, feeling relieved to find none.

"It's okay Hanni, you're alright..." He soothed his crying baby boy, rocking him and rubbing his back. But as soon as Hannibal calmed down, Will looked at him with a frown.

"Hannibal: what did I tell you about the stairs?"

"To...to not go ovew them..." He hiccuped.

"And what did you do instead?"

"I...I did go..."

"Yes, you went over them. That was a very dangerous thing to do. And you disobeyed me. That was very naughty." Will scolded.

Hannibal's bottom lip trembled.

"I-I'm sowwie daddy..."

Graham sighed. "I know you are, honey. But you'll be punished anyway."

Lecter sniffled and whimpered.

"No daddy, please...I'll be good, I pwomise."

As much as it hurt him to do so, Will was going to have none of that. Hannibal needed to be punished and learn to respect rules. He gently laid the psychiatrist over his lap, unbuttoning his blue pants and pulling them down along with the diaper. Feeling his bottom exposed to the cool air, Hannibal shifted uncomfortably: he didn't know what his daddy was going to do, but wanted his nappy back on.

"Now, Hanni: daddy is going to give you five smacks on your bottom. Then you'll stay in the corner for some time, and your punishment will be over. Okay?"

"O-okay, daddy..." He whimpered, hugging a pillow.

Will had a moment of hesitation: yes, Hannibal's mind was recovering fast, and he wasn't worried to traumatize him anymore...but he felt guilty to spank his former psychiatrist, friend and baby boy. He knew a good spanking never really hurt anyone (if done correctly and without the mean to abuse the child). But he was incredibly afraid that he would hate him or that he'd be scared of him. In the end, he took his decision: this had to be done. If Hannibal would be his adult-self, he'd agree with Will, underlying the importance of discipline during childhood. Besides, he almost had an heart attack when he saw him fall down the stairs, so it wasn't like the little one didn't deserve it.

He raised his hand not too high, before hitting Hannibal's buttcheeks and sitspots for five times; he didn't swat too hard, but made sure that Hannibal felt them.

Hannibal gasped at the first swat, tears falling from his eyes as the second one hit his buttcheek. By the fifth, he was sobbing and slightly trembling.

"I-I-I'm sowwie, daddieeee..." Graham had to use all of his willpower to avoid hugging tightly his little one and cuddle him. If he did that, the whole spanking would have been pointless. So he just pulled up the diaper and trousers, before helping Hannibal on his feet, slightly pushing him towards a corner of the room.

"You still have to stay in time-out for a few minutes, young man."

The blond hiccuped and whimpered while he put himself in a corner of the living room, crying softly.

It broke Will's heart. Sighing, he left the big child alone in the room, while he went back into the kitchen to finish preparing lunch. Ten minutes later, the young teacher went into the living room and sat on the couch.

"Alright honey, your punishment is over. Come give daddy a kiss." He opened his arms as the blond man toddled over and hugged him, sobbing.

"Sowwie, daddy! Sowwie!"

"I know, Hanni, I know. You're forgiven, baby boy. I love you so much." Will said rubbing his back and covering his head in kisses. After a while, Lecter stopped crying and relaxed completely on his papa's chest. Will smiled sweetly.

"It's lunch and then a good nap for my little boy."

"Stowy?..."

"And a nice story too, yes." The profiler chuckled, taking him by the hand and guiding him towards the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "It was all a dream" clichè, "incredibly oblivious parent" clichè and "naughty, disobedient boy" clichè.
> 
> Thank you again for all the kudos, comments, bookmarks and hits you're giving me ^^


	5. A Visit

 

 

A week later, Hannibal was able to walk very well.

 

As promised, Will also thaught him how to use the stairs without risking to fall; he told Lecter that running or jumping on the stairs wasn't allowed, since he could hurt himself badly by doing so. This time Hannibal respected his papa's rule, being mindful of the consequences. It seemed that the spanking Graham gave him served its purpose, after all. Alana came visit them again, claiming that doctor Lecter's recover was going well.

Now there were just a few more things to fix.

"In order to speed up his rehabilitation, he should stop using diapers, pacifier and baby bottle. Also, he'll soon need to learn to sleep alone and have his own space."

Will nodded. "I have a spare bedroom upstairs. I decided to move everything down here after the roof accident." He blushed at the memory. He remembered waking up barefooted on his house's roof a couple of months ago. "Damn sleepwalking problems..."

"Speaking of them." Alana continued "I see you less tired."

"Yeah, well, I don't know how, but since Hannibal arrived I have no more nightmares, nor somnambulism accidents...not even insomnia. But I can't say the same for him."

He sighed, observing the very tired blond man, stubbornly trying to stay awake before the tv screen. "He's having a lot of nightmares lately. And everytime he describes them to me, they are always related to all the cases he was involved into. He dreams about corpses, blood...I don't know what to do to help him..."

Alana it his bottom lip. "I'm very sorry for him. But there's very little we can do about it. His mind is gathering all the memories little by little, and unfortunately it's starting by the most...macabre ones."

"Couldn't we try with some hypnosis?"

"Too risky. We could race his thoughts too much and cause another regression. I don't want his mind to be overly-stimulated."

"I swear, if I'll ever get my hands on the guy who did his..."

A few days ago Jack had called him, giving him bad news: apparently, the kidnapper had rented a car in Baltimore under false name, paying with cash. The employee that talked with him described him as a young caucasian male, with dark hair and dark brown eyes. As that would be much of help.

"The F.B.I. is taking care of that. You need to focus on Hannibal now, help his recovering. You should really start with potty training, unless you want to keep change his diapers."

Will grimaced and blushed. He never whined about doing that, but it was starting to get tiring: he always had to change him straight away, no matter the hour, and that often happened during the night. Especially after Hannibal had a nightmare.

"Yeah, I probably should."

After chatting some more about daily facts, Alana left. Hannibal had collapsed on the couch in the end, completely exhausted by the lack of sleep; Will covered him with a warm blanket and went outside, to watch his dogs from the porch. He was pondering about the potty training, when a black car approached his property. The dogs barked and went towards the driver, who just got out of the vehicle: it was dr. Chilton.

"Good afternoon, mr. Graham." He greeted with a friendly smile. Will didn't like Chilton very much: he was arrogant, slimy and bossy. Still, he waved at him, giving a little smile.

"Good afternoon, dr. Chilton...I didn't expect your visit."

"Terribly sorry about that, I couldn't call you any sooner due to my occupation. I knew just yesterday about poor dr. Lecter..."

Will's eyes narrowed. "How do you know?"

"Alana told me, of course. After all, Hannibal is my friend and colleague." He said pacing towards the wooden porch. Colleague yes, friend... the profiler really had doubts about it.

"I came here to see how he is doing. What happened to him was absolutely terrible, I hope Jack Crawford will get the kidnapper soon."

"I'm sure he'll catch him."

Chilton nodded. "So, may I...?" He looked at the front door, expectantly.

Graham observed him for a few seconds before nodding and opening the door.

"Would you like some coffe? Tea?"

"Oh, yes, some tea would be nice." Frederick replied, suddently stopping before the couch. Hannibal was swaddled in a blanket, sucking his pacifier, and looking peaceful and...human.

"It's better if we sit in the kitchen, dr. Chilton." The psychiatrist grinned.

"Yes. Yes, of course."

The man sat in one of the chairs, elegantly crossing his legs, looking at Lecter from time to time. Will offered him a cup of warm tea and sat down as well.

"So, Will: how is fatherhood?" He smirked. Graham shrugged. "An incredibly busy occupation, Frederick. But to help a friend, nothing is too much."

"Ah, yes, what wouldn't we do for friendship?" He sipped his tea. "Speaking of friends, have you seen Alana? I don't want to offend, but she's in terrible state."

Will raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say so?"

"Her pale face and tired expression, for one. Oh, I'm sure you haven't noticed until now because she always tries to be cheerful when she comes visit you. She also have her own job, plus she is covering your lessons at the academy and helping dr. Lecter as well. Anyone would be completely exhausted after only one week...but not dr. Bloom, apparently. I must say, I admire her willpower and endurance. But let me confess you that I'm worried about her: judging from the dark circles under her eyes she barely sleeps. And, I swear, I think she also lost some weight..."

"Your point is?" Will said impatiently. For an istant Chilton casted a cold look at him, before resuming his speech.

"My point, dear Will, is that dr. Bloom needs some rest: and one of the reasons of why I'm here, is to help. I offer my assistance to help Hannibal recover from the regression."

Will considered the offer: everytime Alana came to his house, he sensed fatigue and tension. But also a strong desire to help and support. He felt suddently guilty.

"I guess...it would be helpful from your part. You'll need to discuss it with Alana, though."

Frederick nodded, satisfied.

"By the way, why all this sudden need to aid others, doctor Chilton? From what I understood, you're always really busy." Will grinned.

"As you said before, nothing is too much..." Chilton turned his head towards the sleeping blond man. "...to help a friend." His smile was cold and there was something in his eyes...greed? Hunger for fame? Will really couldn't tell. But he would've kept an eye on him. After finishing their tea in silence, Frederick asked the profiler to update him on Hannibal's recover.

"He's able to talk and walk now. He still behaves like a little child, maybe a three year-old. We don't exactly know, since his mind right now is a mix of memories and skills that swing between an adult and child's ones. He should start potty training now. And have a space of his own."

"I see. But do not worry too much about it. As you said, his mind is a mixture of childhood and adulthood abilities and memories; so if he isn't ready to do a few more steps towards growth, do not force him: just wait for the right time. Otherwise, it would just become a struggle without good results."

Well, he wasn't completely wrong. Not every child learns things at the same age as others; sometimes they could be precocious, and sometimes they could learn late. He remembered to start potty training at four, while normally, a child was potty trained by the age of three, if not before. He blushed at the memory.

"Is something wrong, mr. Graham?"

"No, it's...today is really hot."

"Oh. Yes, I agree." Chilton looked at his watch and got up. "Well then. I'll speak to doctor Bloom and then I'll let you know. Thank you for the tea, I'm sorry I couldn't greet Hannibal."

"Next time you'll visit, he'll be awake Frederick." Will gave a small smile and awkwardly shook Chilton's hand.

"Until the next time, then. Goodbye." He sat in his car and in a few minutes, he was far from Graham's home.

The young man sighed, rubbing his neck. "I just hope I'm not doing a mistake..." He mumbled, before closing the door.


End file.
